18 ECTS credits
450 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 6004263ENR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.
The students select the subject of their master's thesis. For suggestions, professors and assistants of the IERE section are of course available. The master's thesis, which consists of more or less 40 pages, relates to one of the legal subjects taught in the programme. The students are expected to demonstrate their ability to deal with a subject of international or European law in an independent and scientifically correct manner by writing a master's thesis that is comparable to a publishable scientific article.
The students should pay due attention to the methodological aspects of this assignment (see the web page: http://www.vub.ac.be/IERE/methodologie.html). This includes a thorough research of sources. The student should reference the consulted sources in a correct and consistent way (see for example: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, Cambridge, The Harvard Law Review Association (21st ed., 2020)) and to process the information found therein into his/her own text.
This course cannot be taken under credit contract.
Students participating in international moot court competitions are evaluated as follows: the evaluation is first based on the assessment of the written memorials and the oral pleadings by the organising jury. On this basis, a global score is allocated to the group, which is then further refined with an individual differentiation based on the individual contribution made within the team.
Knowledge and comprehension
Application of knowledge and skills
Attitudes
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Master Thesis determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Master Thesis category, the following assignments need to be completed:
The master's thesis is submitted in writing and is defended orally. The oral defence of the master's thesis must take place at the latest during the second term of the academic year of registration. The defence of the master's thesis is public, as are the exams.
For each master's thesis, a written report is drawn up by the supervisor and a reporter, which the student must be able to view no later than three days before the defence of the master's thesis. These reports must also be made available to the members of the jury.
The master's thesis is a separate exam, i.e. it must be assessed separately, taking into account the rules mentioned below.
A student who does not obtain 10/20 is considered not to have passed, regardless of the marks obtained for the other exams.
The jury must check the correctness of the assessments and must also take into account the way in which the candidate defended his/her master's thesis. On the basis of this information, it awards the definitive grade for the master's thesis. The master's thesis is assessed on the basis of the following criteria, the assessment of which is explicitly mentioned in the reports: knowledge of the subject and of the legal principles applicable to it, clear and lucid analysis of the issues, scope and depth of the research, demonstration of original reasoning and critical sense, logical construction and arrangement, spirit of synthesis, sources used, grammar, spelling and style, correct and consistent citation of sources used. The mark awarded expresses, in summary, the assessment of the supervisor, reporters or jury, respectively, on the ability of the student concerned to independently conduct scientific research in the field of international or European law.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of International and European Law: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)